“Rhiannon,” Paine warned, grip increasing, until the bite of the tips of his fingers into my skin was almost unbearable.
“Let her talk, it’s amusing.” Victoria studied me for a moment. Then she reached toward me. Paine’s hand vanished, and I knew he’d moved before she could touch him, granting me freedom. Rising from the chair, I prepared to jump forward, and was stopped as Victoria’s cool fingers wrapped around my wrist. I felt something solid and warm slide into my hand. Glancing down, I saw it was a blade. The hilt was leather, but the sharp end was glistening metal.
“Never enter a fight unarmed. I still need you to exorcise a poltergeist, remember? If you think you can stop them, then do it. I do enjoy a show. So make it worth my while.” Victoria released me and turned to Paine. “She does this alone. No interference. You stay where you are.”
For reasons unknown to me, I sought out the power of the pendant.
The burn was different this time, as if the magic recognized and was relieved at my call. Raw power rushed through my body, suffusing my muscles as it had previously. Only this time it was different. I felt the hum enter my body versus surrounding it, shrouding me in electric tingles.
“Rhiannon, don’t.”
Paine’s request came too late. I was already moving.
The werewolf closest to me was the one who tore the panties from the screaming child who sobbed for help. He didn’t see me as I walked behind him, grabbed him by the back of his hair, and pulled his neck back. One deft motion and the blade plunged into his throat. I yanked to the right, severing the arteries, creating a spew of blood that covered the back of the girl beneath him. I wasn’t sure if the sound he made was a howl or a snarl, since the blade had sliced his vocal cords. His hands moved from the girl’s ass to his throat. He slid his fingers into the blood exiting his body. I realized then that the blade was silver, meaning the fucker wouldn’t heal properly and would likely bleed out.
The volume of the voices in the room increased as the vampires watching took a sudden interest in the turn of events. The werewolf at the girl’s head released her and lunged at me, razor-sharp claws bared. The increased speed I’d used when Carter’s men attempted to chase me down returned, and I sidestepped just as the werewolf neared. I turned on my heels and crouched, waiting for the wolf-man to come at me, ready to introduce him to the same treatment his now limp and twitching counterpart experienced on the floor.
The girl scrambled away, but instead of rushing toward the vampires that had forced her into the situation, she rushed behind me. There was no time to reassure her or to accept her whispered, “thank you, thank you, thank you.” My opponent was gauging me, taking his time, and soon I’d have to be ready to dance.
“Kill him and I’ll give you the puppy as a prize,” Victoria called out. “Every girl deserves a pet.”
The werewolf came at me like an unstoppable freight train, so fast I didn’t have enough time to get out of the way of his claws. The sharp tips scored my side, easing through skin and scraping bone. The pendant flared hot again, and I realized there was no pain, only recognition of the injury as it occurred. Pivoting, I delivered a wound of my own, pressing the knife into his thigh as he moved away.
The warm oozing at my side told me my blood was flowing freely, soaking into my sweater. I was considering the weakness brought about by blood loss when I felt something else pervade my system.
Paine’s mark crashed into me, so strong it put me on my knees.
The werewolf took that exact moment to pounce.
We clashed going head to head, claw to fist. It was an honest to god brawl.